Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Creating Alone In America

The impact of "Bowling Alone in America" was a heightened awareness of how isolated many of our common pursuits have been. The irony of the "cyber community" is that each participant is alone, in the company of a technology instrument, while participating in this greater sense of community. It does not argue with the facts: it is a functional contradiction. Increasingly we are alone when we are together.

For independent creatives this has long been a familiar song. A professional editor, Betsy Lerner, refers to this often in her book THE FOREST FOR THE TREES: An Editor's Advice to Writers. She says, "Whenever I attend writers' conferences, I am struck with the overwhelming sense of alienation that many aspiring writers seem to feel.." Further she addresses the irony that creatives, writers specifically, work to cohesively join and connect with the world - while working alone, with no human contact, for hours, days and weeks at a time.

My friend and fellow creative, Liz Kalloch, has addressed this issue wonderfully. If these issues seem familiar to you, you will take school and comfort from Liz here: http://www.scoutiegirl.com/2011/05/are-you-a-seeker.html

Learn more about Liz and her work at:

The impact of "Bowling Alone in America" was a heightened awareness of how isolated many of our common pursuits have been. The irony of the "cyber community" is that each participant is alone, in the company of a technology instrument, while participating in this greater sense of community. It does not argue with the facts: it is a functional contradiction. Increasingly we are alone when we are together.

For independent creatives this has long been a familiar song. A professional editor, Betsy Lerner, refers to this often in her book THE FOREST FOR THE TREES: An Editor's Advice to Writers. She says, "Whenever I attend writers' conferences, I am struck with the overwhelming sense of alienation that many aspiring writers seem to feel.." Further she addresses the irony that creatives, writers specifically, work to cohesively join and connect with the world - while working alone, with no human contact, for hours, days and weeks at a time.